Motor-vehicle.



D. M. SMITH.

MOTOR VEHICLE.

APPLGATIoN FILED JUNE 16, 1913.

Patented J an. 27, 1914.

:DEMPsTEn M. SMITH, on wAsHINGToN, DISTRICT on COLUMBIA Moron-VEHICL.

Speciication of Letters ltent.

Patented J an. 27, 1914.

Original application iiled June 7, 1909, LSerial No'. 500,770. Dividedand this application iiled June 16, 1913.

Serial N o. 773,988.

ments in Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to novel construction and arrangement of certain ofthe parts of a motorY vehicle, the principal objects being to obtaingreater transmission eihciency and better weight distribution.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention will be pointed outsuiiiciently hereafter in connection with a'. detailed description ofthe accompanying drawing,v

which illustrates one exemplifying embodiment of tlie invention.

It is to 'be understood that the invention is capable of embodiment inmany different forms.

This application is a division of my previously pending application,Ser. No. 500,770, filed June 7, 1909, for power system for motor.vehicles. I Figure 1. is a diagrammatic plan view of suiiicient parts ofa. motor vehicle to enable my invention to be understood Fig. 2 is anenlarged partly sectional view showing details of construction of oneembodiment.

Fig. `3 is an enlarged sectional view, representative of differentialmechanism which mzy be employed.

eferring to Fig. 1, M is a motor carried forward in the chassis frame(F, Fig. 2); G1 is a gear box; C a clutch connecting the motor and gearbox; G2. a second gear box on rear axle A, and S isa propeller shaftconnecting the gear box G1 and G2 by means of universal joints U and U1.

It has been customary in automobiles to arrange the transmission gearingin a single group located either on the chassis frame or on the rearaxle. This frequently results in concentrating too much weight at asingle point, especiallywhen the gearing is located on the rear axle. Toavoid this objection I locate part of the gearing G1 .on the chassisframe and another part G2 on the rear axle, thus distributing t e weightmore advantageously and especially relieving the rear axle of a largeart of the weight, and at the same time I ob ain other very importantadvantages, as will appear.

Gearing G1 may provide for two or more speedccmbinatio-ns and gearing G2may provide for two or more combinations, and an importantcharacteristic of the invention is that every speed combination of gearG1 may be used in connection with every speed combination of gear G2,and thus a greatly increased number of speeds is obtained with very fewparts, the total number of speeds being, in tact, the product obtainedby multiplying the number of speed combinations of one set of gearing bythe number of speeds ofthe other. p

In a representative embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, gearing G1 providestwo forward combinations and one reverse, while gearing G2 providesl twocombinations, either forward or reverse, if desired.

Clutch C connects the motor with gearing G1. On therear end 'of drivenclutch shaft C is spur pinion 3 engaging gear 9 on the countershatt 4.The secondary or driven gear shaft 6 is j ournaled at the front end inthe clutch shaft and at the rear in the gear box, and it has an angularor splined portion 6 engaging sliding gear 13. This gear is providedwith positive clutch members 14 coperating with positive clutch members1 5 on pinion 3, and the gear is adapted to cooperate with the gear 10on the countershaft for forward driving at a low gear ratio and withreverse gears 11,- 12, for reverse driving. The sliding member isshifted by shifter rod and arm 16 engaging an` annular groove providedon the gear.

When slidin'g member 13 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the positiveclutch members are engaged and the drive is direct from the motorthrough `clutch C to the driven gear shaft 6. If the sliding member ismoved Aso that gear 13 engages gear 10, the drive is at a reduced ratiofrom pinion 3 to' gear 9, to gear 10, to gear 13, 'and so to drivenshaft 6. If the sliding member is moved so that gear 13 engages reversepinion 12, the drive is in the reverse direction at.

reduced speed through the countershaft in an obvious manner. Gearing G1may be termed for identification reduction gearing, since its chiefpurpose is to provide either a direct drive to gearing G2 or a reductiondrive, as may be required.

Gearing G2 comprises the usual differential mechanism 36 on the rearaxle 37, but instead of a single bevel pinion and gear combination as'usually provided, there are 110 bevel gear 35.

two sets'of bevel pinions and gears or direct drive members. For thispurpose the dlfferential casing 36 carries beve gear 34 and Main shaft20 of gear G2 carries fixed pinion 21 engaging gear 34 and a loosepinion 23 engaging the gear 35. Rotatably located on the forward end ofshaft 2O is a Sleeve 32 and this is connected with driven shaft 6 ongear G1 by propeller shaft S and universal joints U, U1.- Only oneuniversal joint need be used if desired. Sleeve 32 is made of angularsection or splined to slidably engage clutch member 29, which carriespositive clutch teeth 30. Pinion 23 has clutch members 27 to engageteeth 30,'and shaft 20 has lugs or teeth 28 to engage teeth 30. Suitableradial and thrust bearings are provided for the shaft and pinions.Clutch 29 is shifted by rod 33 and collar engaging an annular groove insaid member. Gear G2 thus comprises two direct drive pinions ofdifferent speed ratios, either of which may be made effective by movingclutch 29 to engage either pinion 23 or lugs 28 on shaft 20 in order tomake pinion 21 effective for driving. At the same time sliding member 13of gearing G1 may be placed either in direct drive or reduction driveposition, and thus four forward speeds are available at the will of theoperator. By moving sliding member 13 into engagement with reversepinion 12 and suitably adjusting clutch 29, reverse drive at twodifferent ratios may be had.

Leaving out of consideration reverse driving, it is evident that by myinvention I am able to provide four forward speeds with the employmentof only eight gears and one positive clutch, and one combinationpositive clutch for gearing G1, or ten elements of gearing in all. Inordinary motor vehicles having three forward speeds there are requiredfor the forward speeds alone eight gears and one positive clutch, sothat by the provision of one additional clutch device I am able toobtain an additional mav be used with either direct drive combination,so that for heavy pulling or slow driving the most advantageous one oftwo or more reduction gear ratios may be chosen.

v It will be evident that more speed combinations may be provided ineither gearing G1 or G2, but it will probably usually be mostadvantageous when more speed combinations are -desired to provide themin gearing G1, and this may be done by adding simply another slidinggear on kshaft 6 to coperate with another gear on countershaft 4, or inother ways Well understood by those versed in the art.

In addition toobtaining the advantages of multiple-speeds and multipledirect drives, as above described, it lis very important that theseresults are obtained without overloading the rear axle by placing theentire gearing thereon, but instead a major portion of the weight ofgearlng is carried y the chassis frame and' is supported on the axlethrough springs instead of directly without springs. It is well known,that when excessive weight is carried on the rear axle directly, anumber of disadvantages follow, such as increased wear of tires, greaterstrain on bearings, slower driving, due to excessive vibration of theaxle on rough roads, etc.

Considering the invention in its broader aspect, gearing G1 isrepresentative of any change speed gearing supported by the chassisframe and providing a direct drive and one or more reduction drives tothe propeller shaft; gearing G2 is representative of any direct drivegearing associated with the driving axle and providing at least twoselectively o erative direct drives of different ratios; an shaft S isrepresentative of any suitable propeller shaft for providing a drivingconnection between these two sets of gearing suitable to the associationof one set with the frame andthe other set with the axle. The particulartypes of gearing and shaft connection shown diagrammatically in thedrawing are satisfactory forms and preferable in some cases.

I claim:

1. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a chassis frame, a motorforwardly located thereon, a rear axle, a first set of transmissiongearing carried by said axle, a second set of transmission gearingcarried by said chassis frame, a shaft and universal joint connectingsaid first and second sets of gearing and a clutch intermediate saidmotor and said second Set of gearing.

2. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a chassis frame, a motorthereon, a rear axle, two bevel gears thereon, two bevel pinionsengaglng said gears and carried o-n a common axis at right angles tosaid axle, a propeller shaft, means for operatively connecting saidpropeller shaft to drive said axle through either of said pinions and.its corresponding gear, reduction gearing supported by said chassisframe, a driving member, and means for connecting said propeller shaftwith said driving member either directly or through said reductiongearing, as desired.

3. Ina motor vehicle, the. combination of a chassis frame, a motorthereon, a rear axle, two bevel gears thereon, two bevel pinionsengaging 'said gears and carried on a common axis at right angles tosaid axle, a propeller shaft, means for operatively connecting saidpropeller shaft with either of said pinions, a clutch, a pinionconnected with the clutch, a co-untershaft driven by said pinion, adriven shaft, a sliding member thereon, means for engaging said slidingmember directly with said .pinion for direct driving or with saidcountershaft for reduced speed driving, and a connection between saiddriven shaft and said propeller shaft.

4. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a. chassis frame, a motorthereon, a drive l axle, two pairs of direct-drive gears of different`ratios associated with said axle, Selective means for making eitherpair of said gears operative to drive said axle, changespeed gearing onthe chassis frame including selectively operative direct driving meansand reduction driving means; a propeller-shaft intermediate saidchange-speed gearing and said direct-drive gears, and clutch meansintermediate the motor and said cl1ange-speed gearing.

5. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a rear axle, gearing thereonproviding two selectively operative direct drives, other gearingproviding a direct drive connection and one or more reduction drives,and a transmission shaft iexibly connected intermediate said sets ofgearing.

6. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a chassis frame, a motorthereon, a clutch, a rear axle, gearing thereon providing twoselectively-operative direct-drives, other- Ygearing supported by thechassis frame and providing direct-driving means and one or v ativelyconnecting the propeller shaft witlr.

either of said pinions, as desired, gearing supported on the chassisframe atthe .forward -end of said propeller shaft, said gearingcomprising a driving member, a driven shaft connected with saidpropeller shaft, means for connecting said driving member and Vdrivenshaft directly, and reduction gearing for connecting said driving memberwith said driven shaft indirectly.

DEMPSTER M. SMITH. Witnesses:

M. A. Woon, W. B. BROCK.

